How to easily convert fluorescent Lights to LED - UPDATED!
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- Опубліковано 24 гру 2020
- LED conversion just got easier! Save time, save money, save energy!
This is the update to • How to easily convert ...
Wiring instructions for ballast bypass begin at 4:50
For more LED conversion details and resources, visit toolboxdiy.com/fluorescent-to-...
T8 LED Tubes Used in this video
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These tubes often sell out so here are some alternatives:
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For instructions on how to rewire a fluorescent fixture to use single ended LEDs, please refer to this video: • How to easily convert ...
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Thanks for this video, Chris! I watched your prior video (4 years old) first and I was wary of all the steps. But this video convinces me that I can do this conversion without too much difficulty (we shall see!!). The reason I need to convert is because my fluorescents do not work well (if at all) in cold temperatures (i.e., my garage workshop. Right now, it is in the 40s F and only 2 out of 4 fixtures work. I am buying LED bulbs tomorrow!! Thanks again.
I took the ballast out of both and they work fine. Thanks again for a great video.
CA resident here, your video is clear, easy to follow, and exactly what I needed, thanks!
Thank you! Very easy to understand. All the other videos had waaaay too much fluff; when it's very simple. One end hot - one end neutral...
I like the way you jump into the topic and get us where we need to go. Great coverage of details such as the bare grounding wire, the looped tombstones and safety issues.
Much appreciated!
I just finished my first conversion; and can't believe how simple it was! I used Wago 221 connectors, and the job was amazingly easy. Thanks for the tutorial.
Glad it helped!
Thanks for your time and interest. Ima go crazy converting these lamps.
I followed your instructions exactly, although mine had 2 wires each for the hot end rather than one in your video. No problem. I just connected them all together to the existing house black. Worked like a charm. Very simple! Thank you.
You're welcome! Glad to help.
Awesome that you showed all the combinations of what works together
You gained another subscriber today. I came across dozens of videos for the same issue. Yours, by far, was the best one. Concise, clear instructions for dummies like me. Appreciate cha!
Happy to help! Thanks for subscribing.
Thanks bud! Bypassed mine today for $40. A/B model GE T8 bulb. I appreciate the knowledge and information about getting this done 👍
Glad I could help!
I've been wanting to convert my lights for some time. After seeing this update I ordered a box of twenty. I found out that these are not plug and play for all fixtures. I rewired two so far and am very pleased with the results. Much more light than with the old fluorescent tubes. The price of each tube is in line with the cost of a standard fluorescent tube so these are a winner.
Thanks for the update.
These are not cheap and will they last as long as the ballest ones? Even the one that works without the ballast has some electronics in its heads and it is not cheap as well, so it is not all together an easy ride. One can cost as much as nine pounds in UK. In my work placs we need ten thousands light, the ballast do not go off so often the light do, but the lights are very cheap. However if you have light that needs no ballast but cost as much as nine pounds for a pair of tubes they are certainly not cheap because in one year you will have at 60 blown out of ten thousands light and that means as much as 900 pounds a year cost. So it looks cheap but they are not cheap, the one that requires with ballast may be the better option because those one are normal price and those one are very good but the one that says no ballast at all you will find out when you change ten thousand of them and each pair cost as much as 9 pounds per pair.
@@democracyforall here in the United States they cost about the same price. The ballast are around $20 though. I work for home Depot in the electrical department.
@Geoffrey Morrison 1. That’s only for instant start which is never used in work places.
2. There is so little mercury that it’s not gonna hurt you.
3. There will always be a huge market for fluorescent lamps because of how common they are.
4. In theory yes but in practice they never last as long and use the same amount of power and put out more light.
5. Modern fluorescent tubes with triphosphor coating can be tuned to any color temp and have a 90+ cri which leds struggle with (especially over a long period of time.
Just converted my garage lights, amazing difference! Used the double end method and it was a breeze. Thanks for the video.
Excellent. Welcome to the club!
This was much cleaner and simpler than other videos. Thanks.
Great videos. Having the knowledge from both was more comprehensive to assist with converting two bathrooms, the laundry room, and the garage. It was a total of 7 different fixture configurations. The only problem is now I need to wear sunblock in my bathroom. 😂
The shortest video gets right to the point. Thanks for keeping it short!
I like your wire stripper. I use the Wago wire connectors. I don't use twist-type connectors at all anymore. They are much easier than I found very secure.
I've watched other videos on how to do this project but yours made the most sense and made the project so easy. The others were so confusing. Thank you!
My thoughts, too. Camera work was excellent.
This was so helpful. Thanks! I converted a kitchen fluorescent fixture to LED Hybrid Type A+B today, and everything worked very well. No one locally (in Arkansas) sells the kind of LED tubes you recommend in the videos. I checked Lowes, Home Depot, ACE, and BatteriesPlus. But when I talked to a clerk at a local light bulb specialty store, he had heard of these kinds of bulbs and respects the product. He called them Smart bulbs instead of hybrid. I ordered from amazon, and installation was very straightforward. I don't normally do electrical DIY. I rewatched your video many times to make sure I understood the steps. Thanks again.
Excellent video! No wasted time and clear instructions.
Thank you!
Double ended ballast bypass LED tubes are the best. They're simple to wire and you can't mess up wiring them.
loved the video , been wanting to convert my garage lights to led and you made it look simple ,Thanks
Very professional. No BS; simply an excellent How-to video.
I appreciate that!
What I thought too.
Just stumbled across your video. I didn’t realize how simple it was to convert the fixtures over to LED. Thanks for the info! You’re making me look really smart in front of my wife LOL 😂
Toolbox DIY....helping dudes look smart to their wives since 2016 😉
Thanks you for the video. This made my retro fit easy. 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
I watched five other videos and was still confused on a few things. I wanted to do a double ended connection, but I wasn't sure if I needed to change the tombstones. I had checked mine and found they were shunted. I also wasn't sure whether to buy b-bulbs or the a+b bulbs. Thanks for clearing all that up.
It's working! Thank you for your lesson
Very helpful! Thank you!
Thank you sir. Very clear and helpful instructions.
Great video...
I stumbled across this, after I started converting my fluorescent tubes to LED, and ended up with problems. After watching your video, I believe my problem is the LED tubes I bought....my home depot only sells the philips universal fit, plug and play. I don't think they work without a ballast. I have removed the ballast, replaced the tombstones, and wired them for single ended power...
I'm going to order the bulbs you recommend, and see if they work.
Great advice! Some reflector are stainless steel but most at white. I used a black magic marker to mark (-) and (+) on the ends. Others may not be into electrical so I mark them for the next guy.
I don't know how others do this, but I use zip backs for receipts, install papers that show part numbers and I. D. the bulb and part that come with the box end tab, etc. Then I file these in a drawer of my filing cabinet, next to dishwasher, ceiling fan, door locks. I don't call companies to fix or replace things the break at home or in car.
Tons of insurance ads on TV make you remember that last time you had brakes done on a good car that you plan on keeping. Start a second savings account at your bank or credit union. Remember, banks are for profit so everything has a cost. With your second savings account, pay it $10 - $50 bucks and don't touch it. If you put $100 each month then in a year, you got $1,200 dollars sitting / for your car or truck. 2 years, $2,400 dollars, 5 years, 6,000 bucks. Change your oil when on sale, filter, watch UA-cam and rotate your tires. There are all kind of service you can do over a weekend for most cars. It is cheaper and you get the satisfaction of doing it yourself. Plus you have $2,600 in the saving #3. Do it!
DK, ASE Master Tech since 78, retired.
Thank you for passing this information on 🙏🏽
You changed my (garage) life! Thank you!
Happy to help!
After removing the ballast & stripping the various blue wires, the 'new' attachments were on the very edge of the viewing screen. Since this is critical, it would have been helpful for this to be in clearer view. Thanks!
I installed 4 set of the hybrid tubes in identical fixtures. They worked only for two months. When removing each old tube from the fixtures I notice one end of the reflector was lightly blackened. Today, I installed the type B tubes and removed the ballasts. Hopefully, these tubes will last a lot longer. Removing and rewiring around the ballast was simple.
Why is an LED bulb only lasting 2 months?
What's your opinion on doing Type B single vs doubled ended? I just converted my fluorescent lights to Type B single ended and I love the brightness, efficiency, instant on and lack of ballast. So glad I did this!
Amazing video, very clear and instructive.
Glad it was helpful!
What a great video, thanks!!!
Ok, you just changed my mind. This looks very doable even in a short time frame. Thank you.
edit to add: ok, I apparently have t12 so I'm looking at a bigger project again. 😮💨 I can't seem to find t12 led bulbs as it looks like t12 was starting to be phased out in 2013? The amount of crazy bulb-specific fixtures in this house we bought is just non-stop.
Cool update. Thx. Hope this vid is as successful as the last. Here when 1400 views was the count. 12/31/2020.
Great help! Thanks!
This was a very helpful video. Thank you!!!
Very informative , thanks.
That was awesome and pretty simple
This was very good, thanks! 👍
Nice video, very informative. You should put a link to those wire strippers in your description.
Thank you for the video. I watched it several times before tackling my retrofitting project. Most of the lights were pretty straight forward. i came across a couple that were part of a 3 way switch. there was an extra wire (red) going along out of the ceiling with the neutral, hot and ground wire. i suspect that it is part of the wiring for the 3 way switching system. can you shed some light on what to do with this "extra" wire. My instinct was to group this red wire with the hot wire. it seems to work, but i want to make sure that i am not going to cause any long term issues.
Very helpful, thanks🙂
Great work 👍👍👍
I have two fluorescent fixtures downstairs I want to convert to LED. This was a great video. This is no different than hanging a new light fixture. Once the fixture is converted do you typically mark which end is hot for the bulbs?
Good job & good speaker
Very helpful. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for the good video.
Not all T8 fixture lampholders (tombstones) are shunted.only the ones wired to instant start ballasts. Program Start T8 and all T12 rapid start ballasts require unshunted lampholders. It’s good to see there is a hybrid version of these T8 LED retrofit tubes available for use in line with ballast, wired direct to incoming power or single or double sided wiring for direct power. I agree that it is cleaner and more efficient to bypass the ballast in these fixtures since the ballas still draws Danton power when tubes are operated inline with ballast.
I used to work for the US Navy and did hundreds of lighting retrofits in facilities. The Navy banned the use of these retrofit LED tubes in their facilities when I was there. Not sure if they still do. At one point I did a demonstration project in the office building I worked in, where we had three-lamp F32T8 fixtures, and retrofitted them down to two-lamp T8 LED tubes (bypassing ballast). I worked under these fixtures for a year and had no problems with the light levels. Energy consumption and fixture illumination output was recorded and analyzed.
very nice ! thanks for the info
I’m going to convert my garage fixtures to LED. I am a little concerned about running 120vac thru the old 12 DC wiring though. I’ll probably switch it over to a heavier gauge.
Great video but I just have a clarification question: the blue wires are being connected to the black (HOT) correct, and the red wire is being connected to the white (NEUTRAL), correct. The angles of your shot block the actual wire colors.
You have it correct, but he mentions at 7:55 that it doesn't matter. He would have been fine if he connected blue to white and red to black.
I had the exact same problem. But you are correct.
Agree with you.
This is worth to watch, thanks man ..
My pleasure!
Great vid, very thorough 👍
I disagree, he really needed to “pan out”. The angle was too close, he cut off part of the action
I don't remember the brand of LED tubes I used, but they come with double ended pins. One set of tombstones has two blue wires and two red wires. These 4 wires get wire nuts on the black wire coming from the power cord. The other set of tombstones have three wires, consisting of 1 red, 1 blue, and 1 yellow. There is also a short yellow jumper next to the longer yellow that goes to the red wired tombstone. These 3 wires get tied to the white power wire, also called negative or neutral. By pass the ballast by removing it from the metal fixture and cutting the wires from it close to the ballast case. Wire nut the wires together as described, put in your LED tubes and you should have light. A tip: if you are only going to do one or two fixtures for now, and several others in 6 months or a year, take a piece of paper and make a simple wiring map or diagram so you won't forget and have to open up a previously wired fixture to see how it was done. The whole thing takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
great video.
Great video. Thank you!
You are welcome!
Very good thanks😎
Great video and a very simple process. I have a 4 tube (2 on each side) and 2 ballasts. I presume I can group like colored wires together and connect as you show. My fixture also has yellow wires. What do I do with them?
Thanks!
Thank you, clear explanation
Glad it was helpful!
I replaced my fluorescent lamps with single ended ballast free tubes. It didn't require any new parts. The far end tombstones are simply bypassed too and are only for support. That is the simplest solution in the long run.
With single ended wiring approach, you need to be sure the tombstones are non shunted (the pin socket one side of the tombstone is electrically isolated from the other pin of the tombstone). In some fluorescent fixtures the tombstones are “shunted “ (one pin socket is electrically connected to the other pin socket on the same tombstone). Some led lamp manufacturers will supply non shunted tombstones if you need to remove shunted tombstones on the existing fixture you are converting ).
@@cayuga74 By "single ended" I'm referring to tubes that have no electrical connections on the far side, they are simply mechanical supports.
@@eminusipi understood. I am just pointing out that in the scenario where you are wiring both hot and neutral to the same tombstone, where hot goes to one pin connection socket and neutral goes to the other pin socket of the same tombstone, that tombstone must not be the shunted type or you will have a dead short. Some fluorescent fixtures in the past did have shunted tombstones
I'm confused. Wouldn't the modification that you made be appropriate for Type B (double ended connection) LED tubes? Why do you recommend Type A+B Hybrid for this modification?
I recommend the modification because I have a beef with ballasts. Well, to be more accurate, I have the worst luck with ballasts. I've had far too many fail on me. So I now recommend bypassing the ballasts for all LED conversions. Since you already have the ladder out why not get in front of a potential future problem!? But bypassing the ballast is not mandatory for these hybrid tubes. If you decide not to bypass it, you can always come back to this video if you get struck with my bad luck and the ballast fails. That's what I really like about these tubes...options.
@@ToolboxDIY I ended up ripping out the ballasts and wiring in all my basement flourescent fixtures. They all had non-shunted tombstones, so it was simple to re-wire them up in parallel for cheap single ended led tubes. It was a two day project, but well worth it. Your video gave me the inspiration to attempt it.
@@ToolboxDIY I did the type a a left ballast in a fixture in my house on an 8foot ceiling because I actually didn't realize I'd bout LED bulbs, not fluorescent! I bought type A nonballast only for some 12foot tubes that were in fixtures about 25feet of the floor of a garage because they were the only I saw in home depot and lowes. And I only put 1 35watt LED to replace two 75watt fluorescents mainly because they were quite expensive, but they seem as bright if not brighter than the old tubes/ballast. Plus garage is un heated so they work better in the cold! I didn't put a sticker on the fixture but I figured the next person to replace these will find out they won't run fluorescents the hard way! Had about 15 old bulbs to get rid of but home depot took them in their recycle bin!
@ToolboxDIY I've just been offer a 1099 for retrofitting LED lights but I'm not sure on how to bid it. Would I charge per light? And if I decided to hire on labor how much should I bid the job for?
@@ToolboxDIY I've been offered a 1099 for to retrofitting LED lights but I don't know how much I should charge. Should charge per light and if I hire on labor how should I factor that in my bid? Thank you
Very useful video
Will this work on commercial fixtures where the voltage can potentially be higher that that of a home's +/-120? Wasn't sure whether the ballast also acts as a voltage "regulator" and if so, would commercial voltage be too much for the bulbs... Or maybe that's not even an issue??
Great video... well thought out and presented!! Thank you.
Thank you souch for explaining it so simply.
What would you do to make these dimmable? Anything on yhis end needs to be done, ot jsut a dommable switch is enough?
Thanks
great video thanks
Excellent video.
Thank you very much!
brilliant!
Are there similar leds for 8 foot long fixtures?
Cool video. Ty for the info.
You bet
This looks easy enough. Would this be the same thing I would do for an old fluorescent bar light?
GREAT!!!!!!! Thanks.
Are these leds dimmable?
Thanks in advance
Wow, that looked easy to me, someone who generally doesn't even try to deal with electrical items.
Great update. Thanks. Now i feel like finally tackling this long overdue project. I need to replace several broken off tombstones though so let's see how that makes it harder to complete for me. They still need to be shunted tombstones if you keep the double ended style LED tubes even if your remove the ballast, correct?
I would use shunted tombstones for the replacements however most double ended tubes can be powered through either pin so non-shunted is likely to work.
Some questions, please.
1. In the conversion that you did in the video, can the type A+B bulb be inserted in either direction? It was sorta implied, but I never heard it said explicitly.
2. Aren't type B bulbs made specifically for fixtures with ballasts removed? So if I am going to remove the ballast, why not use them instead? (If you said why, I missed it).
3. If I got double-ended Type B tubes, can they be inserted in either direction? I assume so, but again, I'd like to hear it.
4. Finally, got any idea which way the wind is blowing? Be a shame to pick one (i.e. single end) and then have them go the way of Beta-max!
Finally, thanks, this was extremely helpful and understandable.
The one you've got is new type, got anything for the older magnetic type that are wired different???
Well done tutorial. I am intending to convert my garage overhead flo's to led. Ballast are junk anyway. what's the best way to search for an led equivalent for a T8 4100K 32 watt 3000 Lumen equivalent? (if one even exists)
Hello, I recently changed my recessed lighting (CFL) to retrofit LED (6") and I'm just wondering because the last video, the vlogger was saying "Blue always goes to the White and Black always goes to the red." In this video you connected Blue to Black and Red to White. By the way, I love your wire stripper. Thanks for this video. Much appreciated.
Great video. Just what i was looking for. BUT can you connect this system to a DIMMER switch? My fluorescent light is in the kitchen and I’d like to dim it when we’re having dinner. Any other light fixtures won’t supply the brightness we need in the kitchen. Thanks
Thanks for the update!
Do you have any recommendations for single pin 8 footers? What ones to buy?
What about tube lights that have drivers which led can we use to bypass the ballast but still use the emergency driver
As I am watching your video, I've been going to my light and checking everything step by step. However, my light fixture has 2 yellow wires, and there is no yellow in your fixture. I didn't see this addressed in any other question. Could you please address what to do with the yellow wires?
soo complicated, and convoluted!
Thank you! I was wondering if you can do this for the "U" shaped Flourescents?
I've never done it but it is possible. I've seen quite a few U shaped LED tubes.
Hi, your Amazon link to the specific bulb you are using is not showing up. What brand are the bulbs? Thanks!
I have 8’ fixtures, do they make these type of bulbs to fit 8’ fixtures? If so, which one do you recommend?
Thanks for making this video. I removed the ballast from my fixture and re wired it the way you described. Black power wire to one tombstone at one end and white to the other tombstone. I tested with a multimeter and can confirm that I have 120v from one end of each tombstone to the other however I get no light when I installed a universal Type A Linear LED Bulb. I know the bulb is good because I also tried installing it in a different fixture which does have a working ballast. Do some Type A LED’s require a ballast? I wouldn’t think so, but I’m at a loss for what the issue could be?
Type A requires a ballast. It's Type B that requires removing the ballast.
Is the end with the daisy chained wires a shunted or non shunted system? Thanks for the easy to understand video.
Same question. would like to know how this work? we can do daisy chain also on the Hot wire side? Thanks.
I have a T12 ballast and two bulbs. Besides the black and white wires going into the ballast, there are two yellow wires going to the tomstones on one end and two reds and two blues going to the tombstones on the other end, so it's different than what you are showing.
Yes, just about every ballast manufacturer has a slightly different wire color scheme and the number of bulbs for the ballast also comes into play. The concept is exactly the same though. You can cut the two red and two blue and connect those with the black hot wire. Then cut the yellow wires and connect those to the white neutral wires.
My Philips plug and play led T8 tube worked on a rapid start ballast fixture even though the tube said”use only in instant start ballasts”. How did it work on the rapid start?. (Feel free to ask here)
Wish i could see which wires you cinnected off screen. Thanks for trying.
I'm going to change mine over once my bulbs burn out. Great video, short and sweet.. 😂
Any recommendations for 8 foot options for this? Thanks